Australian house price growth on the decline
Despite being a global top performer for annual house price growth, the Australian market is experiencing a slowdown.
According to Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index for the first quarter of 2016, Australia ranked sixth in the world for annual price growth, at 8.7 per cent.
However, the report noted the annual growth rate is beginning to slow.
“Despite Australia’s recent [official cash] rate cut to 1.75 per cent, prices are unlikely to keep growing at the same rate given mortgage debt is at a record high relative to income, and December 2015 saw the introduction of new fees for foreign buyers,” it said.
Meanwhile, Turkey was the top-ranked country for annual price growth, recording a 15.3 per cent increase in the 12 months to 31 March 2016.
Sweden was next best, with 12.9 per cent growth, followed by New Zealand (11.0 per cent) and Lithuania (10.5 per cent), with Malta rounding out the top five with 9.9 per cent growth.
